Cara Thompson Wins Slam O Vision 2021

CARA THOMPSON -WINNER OF SLAM O VISION 2021

By Sharon Stevens

Some time ago, I chatted with Cara Thompson, a poet and writer local to Nottingham. She is forthright and an inspirational young woman. When Cara entered, she represented Nottingham and the UK in the competition. Cara, who began writing poems as a child, became a freelance poet and is part of the Gobs Collective’s poetry group, which encompassed its involvement in the Nottingham Poetry Festival.

2021 was the third event of the Slam O Vision Global Poetry Slam. In 2019 the finalists were from Quebec City, Nottingham, Melbourne, Iowa City, Heidelberg, Tartu, and Edinburgh. The winner (from Utrecht) was Babs Gobs, with her poem Ass Man. In 2020 the finalists were from Manchester, Quebec City, Edinburgh, Melbourne, Tartu, Reykjavik, and Ulyanovsk. The winner was Jardel Rodrigues from Manchester with his poem Barbirolli Square. This is my conversation with Cara:

Can you tell me a little about yourself?

I have been doing poetry for a few years now. I say that I officially started writing about the age of 15 or 16. It’s something I fell into. In the beginning, I didn’t even realise it was what I was doing. I was writing and enjoying it. It was around my second year of Uni when the performance side started. It’s been kind of a rollercoaster ever since then; from something I’m developing and growing every day. I’ve joined in with local poetry collectives and events. It’s all become its own thing.

How did you get involved in the Slam competition?

So, Slam O Vision is something I became aware of a while ago. Like I said before, I’m involved in a few poetry collectives, and the main one I’m involved with is Gobs Collective. That’s been a huge part of my journey as a poet. I’d say that, up until this year, I really wasn’t even comfortable calling myself a poet. The leaders of the collective shared about the Slam O Vision thing. Initially, I had no intentions of entering. Again, it was a matter of confidence because of the performance side.

Tell me about Slam ’O’ Vision.

Slam O Vision is a competition organised by the UNESCO cities of literature. It’s a global thing, and seven cities of literature take part. Nottingham is a city of literature. We’ve been given the title by UNESCO as we’ve a strong literary heritage, so we are eligible to compete in this competition. It’s exactly like Eurovision, with the same principle. You put someone forward to represent you, and then all these different cities compete. Then it’s a public vote, including my judges, followed by you asking people to vote for you. It’s also about judges in these cities, giving you points so whoever gets the most points win.

Were you nervous when you pre-recorded your performances?

Honestly, no, because I didn’t expect to win. I know it sounds terrible and quite self-deprecating, but I kind of entered with the spirit that there’s nothing to lose in applying. And even if I didn’t win, it was worth a try. I submitted it on a whim - you look back at how you delivered it and see how it’s coming across.

How many people were in the finals?

It was me and six others, so each city would have gone through the same thing, asking poets from the region to apply. The judges then decide on one who will go forward to represent them. My poem went to the final. It was a live broadcast. It was hosted by the Manchester City of Literature, which won last year. Like Eurovision, whoever wins hosts it the next time. Then also the Québec City of Literature co-hosted internationally. It was pleasant as a nice blend, I think, to see how two cities approach things.

How did it feel waiting for the results?

It was mixed feelings. I was just kind of really pleased to be a part of it, I think, for a start. It was almost like I was watching a good poetry gig. Like you just sat and watched these other performances. You just try to enjoy them and appreciate what you’re listening to. Despite that, I think it was when the voting started that I realised that it would be quite nice to win. Literally screamed what! I kept laughing, but I don’t know why that reaction came out. It was all a bit hysterical! How was this possible? This started with me filming something in my room, not really thinking anything of it, basically throwing it to the wind, and it just became this moment. It was just really, really lovely. I assumed that with the content of my poem, being quite specific to being this Black British person, Windrush and all these things. I thought that there was no way someone from, I don’t know, Finland was going to understand what I was saying, but they did. It took me about two days to actually accept it. Click the link for the rest of the interview: https:// mojatu.com/2022/11/04/cara-thompson-winner-ofslam-o-vision-2021/

EMBRACING DIVERSITY IN MULTI-FAITH SOCIETY: Challenges and Prospects - A lecture by Dr Shaikh Khalid bin Khalifa

By Penny Cooper

The Embracing Diversity in Multi-faith Society lecture was organised by a Nottingham-based community organisation, Karimia Institute in conjunction with Nottingham Trent University (NTU). The Institute’s Human Kind program aims to “build trust between the British Muslim community, the wider British public and vice-versa”.

Karimia Institute was established in 1990 and thirty years down the line, the Institute was decorated with the “British Muslim Awards 2020 Charity of The Year”. The institute’s mission statement reads, “to help individuals and families learn life skills, develop moral and spiritual values through education, worship and recreation”. The Human Kind program explores common bonds, creation of a world where we can all live in harmony no matter colour, ethnicity, religion and/or gender. According to their website, the Human Kind program has four main objectives: • Raising awareness and busting myths on Islam. • Creating opportunities for interaction and dialogue. • Train a network of ambassadors from various ethnic and religious backgrounds with the skills to promote mutual understanding and build relationships. • Have ambassadors engage and visit various audiences to deliver presentations geared towards myth-busting. Dr Musharraf Hussain, CEO of the Karimia Institute, told the gathering that the Human Kind program is a trust building project because where trust exists, people live in an inclusive, connected, harmonious society and peace while where trust is absent, there would be suspicion, distrust, and doubt. In more recent years, Muslims have appeared in a less favourable light, the media paint a negative picture. Over the years, about a quarter of the UK population are suspicious or have negative thoughts about Muslims leading to an increase in hate crime targeting Muslims. This Program was launched to recruit ambassadors, to train Muslims and non-Muslims to engage with others and provide an opportunity for people to talk to Muslims and experience the commonality between them and non-Muslims. The question is “is it working?” It would seem it is since trust has been found to be built in three main ways: • Workshops – offering an open and safe forum. • Personal stories, providing deeper connections, familiarity and understanding. • Commonalities and shared values – we are all human.

If you would like to know more about the Human Kind program or find out more about becoming an ambassador, you can contact Saima Afzal at saima. afzal@karimia.com The keynote speaker was Dr Shaikh Khalid bin Khalifa from Bahrain. Who serves as the Executive Director of Isa Cultural Centre and the Chairman of the board of Trustees of King Hamad Global Centre for Peaceful Coexistence in the Kingdom of Bahrain. Dr Shaikh Khalid said, “tolerance, diversity and peace are vices worth aiming for”. He said acknowledged Britain’s position as role model for other countries comparing it with Bahrain saying it is a predominantly Muslim country which nurtures diversity. He said the type of political system does not matter, because freedom of minorities as human beings is what matters most.

If anyone would like a copy of the Quran, it is £5 for a paperback. It is in English and intended as a translation for ease of reading. Contact for this is musharraf. hussain@karimia.com, Musharraf Hussain being the translator.

MISSING SIR SIDNEY POITIER

By Penny Cooper

The first Black person to win a Best Actor Oscar, gave a string of groundbreaking performances on screen, that helped combat social prejudice. Sidney Poitier, whose groundbreaking acting work in the 1950s and 1960s paved the way for generations of black film stars, highlighting social and racial issues of persons of colour. Sidney who died aged 94, on 7 January 2022, has left a huge gap in the struggle for stardom by many actors of not only coloured skin but also young and aspiring actors. Sidney arrived in Hollywood at the age of 22 when life for black people in the US was marred by violence, racial injustice, unequal opportunities, and an industry difficult to penetrate as a black person. The academy bestows an honorary award on a member of the film industry whose input is gearing towards bettering the industry and the influence they have created in the industry and around the world. The academy in 2002 honoured Sir Sidney Poitier with an Honorary Award for his role in all categories, an award which was universally appreciated and celebrated. Receiving the award, he remarked, “I accept this award in memory of all African American actors and actresses who went before me in the difficult years, on whose shoulders I was privileged to stand to see where I might go.” The Bahamas Deputy Prime Minister, Chester Cooper, said he was “conflicted with great sadness and a sense of celebration when I learned of the passing of Sir Sidney Poitier”. Tributes rolled in from Barack Obama, Denzel Washington, Halle Berry and many more. The multiple Oscar Award winner Denzel Washington at the 74th Oscars in 2002 paid a special tribute to Sidney saying, “for forty years, I have been chasing Sidney… they finally give to me what they gave to him the same night…I will always be chasing you Sidney and following your footsteps because there is nothing, I would rather do Sir”. Denzel recollected before Sidney, “African American actors had to take supporting roles in major studio films that were easy to cut out, but you couldn’t cut Sidney Poitier out of a Sidney Poitier picture. He was the first solo above the title “African American Movie Star… he was unique.” Peter Bradshaw described him as “a natural film star who quietly pioneered a revolution.” Sir Sidney performed in films such as: The Defiant One, Lilies of the Field and Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner. A life to celebrate!

Check out Sidney Poitier on Youtube.com and see him receiving his Oscar.

https://mojatu.com/2022/11/17/ missing-sir-sidney-poitier/